I'm unsure if I want to rewatch season 2 or not. I kind of didn't love a lot of it (like when matthew can miraculously walk again and lavinia conveniently gives up and dies). Either way, there's a lot of it that I did love and I'm super excited for it to start!

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I am super duper dorkily excited. I put it in my google calendar as title: DOWNTON ABBEY!!, location: couch. I will probably make themed food. Last season was kind of ridic in parts but I don't even care.

Branson (sorry! Tom!) and Sybil are my favorite (well, one of my favorites). I did not super love the American maid (Reed?) - she seemed really "now" to me, but Shirley MacLaine did a bit, too, so maybe it's just the fact that they're American?

It was so good. I wasnt prepared for a two hour premiere though. Had to stay up later than normal for that. I was kind of hoping Shirley would save Downton and come live there for a while causing all sorts of annoyance.

Yes. This was an interesting twist! Honestly when Thomas was giving him advice on cleaning the shirt i was like "well, you gotta learn sometime that Thomas is out to screw you over. now or never!"

I find it hard to believe Matthew only has one of each type of jacket.

Other things:It all of a sudden dawned on me when Mary and Matthew were talking about being naked together that ew! they are cousins! Mary being such a whiner and almost refusing to marry Matthew if he didn't spend his dead fiances money on her family. Does she actually love him?Branson, you can't refuse to wear a tux to a wedding. I loved how Maggie Smith put the smack down on that one.Carson being Carson. Always amazing.Bates is hot! Especially all scraggly in jail! But I'm super worried his cell mate is going to kill him in his sleep or something, or that Bates is going to accidentally kill him and have to stay in prison :(Anna is still super nice and now she knows how to do awesome 20s hair! I kind of felt like when Branson and Sybil were in bed and she asked him to chill out, he was kind of a dick when he said "don't disappoint me" as if her not wanting him to fight with her family was some sort of slight against him. He has always seemed a bit controlling to me.

lastly, what was with Laura Linney's walking and talking and her outfit was awful and seemed too small.

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It was so good. I wasnt prepared for a two hour premiere though. Had to stay up later than normal for that. I was kind of hoping Shirley would save Downton and come live there for a while causing all sorts of annoyance.

Really? I was hoping she would spontaneously combust from an accumulated buildup of "OMG I'M SUCH A SPUNKY AMERICAN!!!" stereotypes. We watched the first couple episodes online a few months ago, and I realized about halfway through the first one that I just...don't care about these characters. Like, at all. The introduction of the ultra-annoying Ms MacLaine just sealed the deal. I don't know what happened, but I can't decide whether the writing has actually gotten much sloppier and ham-handed, or whether it was always pretty crummy and I was just distracted by the costumes and Maggie Smith.

I loved the first season and got kind of irritated by the second one. I have to say so far the third seems somewhere in the middle.

Liked- One of the things that drove me nuts about series 2 was that all of a sudden the "upstairs" aristocrats were getting intimately involved in the personal problems of the "downstairs" help. In series 1 they were very blithely unaware of what was going on downstairs, which made it a very interesting dynamic, that the servants had this separate existence going on that was barely noticed. It seems like in series 3 they've returned to that a little bit, rather than having everyone involved in everyone else's business. When they do cross these boundaries, it's an exception and awkward for all involved (like the Sybil-Tom plot). - the cancer subplot is actually really interesting because it's so novel to us as viewers, the idea of a cancer plotline without chemo and radiation and modern treatments or clearly even diagnosis.- they seem to have, knock on wood, successfully married off half the cast without jumping the shark

Disliked- that actor from "Cold Feet." Plays Edith's older gentleman caller? Icks me out. Not sure if it's him or he's just a good actor and his character icks me out, I think it might be the former because I don't like him in Cold Feet either, but regardless: ick!- The 1920 fashions. God, they're ugly - like the women have vertical boards strapped to their chests. - I love Shirley Maclaine, but thought she was kinda wasted/not given great writing.- I'm all for some good snark, but they took away any subtlety from Cousin Violet. Like the "I always think well of the Engish when I see [Shirley Maclaine's char]" or whatever. - the Bates prison scenes bored me to tears. I'm hoping his sentence is overturned just so they don't include 15 minutes of those in every show.- people seem to have largely moved on from the war, and I kind of liked the psychological trauma aspects of it - I'm a big fan of Pat Barker's "Regeneration" but I guess I'll have to read the rest of that trilogy to get my WWI fix!

The sexy talk was hysterical. When Matthew said being in Mary's bed was "nice as nice can be," I died laughing. Also, ew, the "you know what I mean heh heh" moment between Matthew and Mary's father when they were discussing the honeymoon. Fancy English people talking about sex, teehee!

I was so happy to see Branson again (hubba hubba), though I agree he was kind of a dick. I wish he would drop the chip on his shoulder and then fix a car with his shirt sleeves rolled up.

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:20 pmPosts: 1093Location: Land of the First Kaiju

Yeah, Shirley MacLaine's character was a bit too, "I'M NOT WEARING UNDERWEAR. I MAY HAVE A GUN IN MY GARTER BELT RIGHT NOW. IT'S 1920. IN 15 MINUTES I WILL REMIND YOU ALL AGAIN THAT IT IS THE YEAR 1920." Kickass wardrobe, though.

I guess it makes sense that they are staying in Downton, but I was interested to see how the family would cope with living in a smaller mansion (!) Yay for Mrs. Hughes!What is up with what's her name, the ex maid? What do you think is going on with her? Do you guys think that the new footman looks like Landry from Friday Night Lights?I'm scared about a war between O'Brien and Thomas. Eek! I guess it's good that Matthew took the money, but maybe he can at least donate some of it to help keep people from dying to stop inconveniencing people.

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Yeah, I thought last night's episode reminded me of why I think the show's kind of going downhill. They seem afraid not to give everything a happy ending sometimes. I thought it would change the dynamics and be interesting in a different space, and was kind of looking forward to a cancer plot.

To be honest I find myself not that interested in the Thomas-O'Brien and ex-maid plots. They're shiitakey to everyone around them, repeatedly, and nobody seems to really take that much notice of it? It's also leading to, yet again, the upstairs people getting much more involved in servants' lives than seems realistic. The self-flagellation by Matthew was, I thought, a little over the top. I hope they move on. I'd cheerfully never hear the word "lavinia" again.

Ha yes, it was definitely written by a focus group "oh, they like that part! let's do more of it! all the time!"

The Matthew walking again thing was one of the dumbest moments on tv, but...whatever I still like the show! The first season was great. Now it's a corny soap opera, but with Maggie Smith, so who can complain?

_________________I am not a troll. I am TELLING YOU THE ******GOD'S TRUTH****** AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT THE HEAR IT DO YOU?